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Families milled around the library on Tuesday afternoon to enjoy a day of reading and playtime. For the second year in a row, the Bradshaw Library in Valley partnered with Southern Union State Community College Adult Education to host the Family Fun Literacy Day. 

In honor of National Adult Literacy Week, the library invited families to come out for an afternoon of reading, playing and arts-and-craft activities. 

Lee County Literacy Coalition and Circle of Care, a Valley nonprofit organization providing community family resources, was also present. Their booth provided information about their GED tutoring program and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program. 

Children enrolled in the Imagination Library program receive a free book in the mail from birth until five years old. 

Youth Program Coordinator Jade Letson hosted story time as families filtered through the library. But for kids with a little too much energy, arts and crafts stations and a board game station were also set up around the library. 

The library also hosted a book giveaway in view of the popular ice cream truck. Each child received a drawstring bag and a free children’s book before running out to grab a cold treat. 

The goal of the event, Letson said, was to promote literacy and engage families in a day of fun at the library. Reading as a family helps foster a love of reading at a young age and is one of the best ways to help support student literacy.

Literacy rates affect all aspects of life from the economy to the classroom to society at large.

According to the National Literacy Institute (NLI), approximately 40 percent of students across the country cannot read at a basic level as of 2023. In fact, struggles with reading impact teachers and students, changing the disposition of both for the worse. Sixty percent of behavioral problems in students occur during reading assignments.

Literacy is a skill that will impact children for the rest of their lives. Into adulthood, literacy can make a big difference when it comes to employment. According to the NLI, “between 46% and 51% of American adults have an income well below the poverty level because of their inability to read.”

Even more troubling, some states even base part of their projections for prison bed capacity on how well current elementary students are performing on reading tests, according to the NLI. 

The library hosts many other events throughout the summer and into the school year. Letson said that those at the Bradshaw Library hope to continue the literacy day next year as well.